The International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) is one of the largest North American trade shows dedicated to the manufacturing industry. According to an update from Peter Eelman, vice president and CXO of the Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT), the show will go on as planned September 14-19 at McCormick Place in Chicago.
According to Eelman, interest in IMTS 2020 from the manufacturing community remains high. The show is reportedly at 94% of capacity for exhibit space and registrations have been steady throughout the onset of the crisis.
However, IMTS will look different this year with added safety protocols. The show staff is currently redesigning high traffic areas — such as registration, conferences and receptions — and considering entry point measures such as temperature checks and mask distribution.
The show will also be co-located with the Smart Manufacturing Experience (SMX), which was originally scheduled to be held in Pittsburgh in June.
Eelman said the staff remains in constant communication with McCormick Place, the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois.
McCormick Place was set up as a temporary medical center. Originally, 3,000 beds were planned for the site, but now that the number of cases is growing at a slower rate, fewer beds are needed. As a result, officials are cutting 2,000 beds from the temporary medical center.
"We have been advised that 2,000 beds have been removed from the alternate care facility and, to date, have had less than a dozen patients. We have also been advised that they are planning to move the entire facility out by June for shows to start up again in July," Eelman said.
